Fund to dream about, even if it never happens. Collectivism has a way of crumpling these kinds of dreams and tossing them into the waste basket. People will be more occupied with dreaming of how to find a crust of bread.
I'm about 40% of the way through the faux-ars-nouveau movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It reminds me of the children's literature I devoured a half-century ago, which echoed a forgotten motif of the 1930s -- the astonished appreciation of how fast progress could happen, and the breathless speculation about what could happen next.
There was reason for soaring optimism. A single generation had gone from clattering motorized kites to ocean-spanning aluminum monoplanes. From horse-and-buggy to the first car to travel a mile a minute (a Stanley Steamer). To the first car to travel two miles a minute (a Stanley Steamer). From telegraph to commercial radio programs. From still photos to motion pictures with sound. "The Wizard of Menlo Park" cranked out a continuous stream of new marvels from his "invention factory."
So, who slammed on the brakes? Who killed the dream? And why? Answer these questions, and maybe I will indeed get to retire on the moon.